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skyggedal — AA-Weiwu
#arcem_alva #dragon #weiwu
Published: 2020-04-29 11:16:52 +0000 UTC; Views: 735; Favourites: 18; Downloads: 2
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Description
Species Name: Weiwu
Average Lifespan: Unknown. According to popular myth they live for a hundred cycles of the Songluan calendar. It’s been theorized that the length of their beard is indicative of an individual’s age.
Habitat: Active volcanoes, lava fields and magma tunnels. Occasionally found in hotsprings and around geysers.
Population/Distribution: Rare. The weiwu are found primarily on the volcanic isles in north Song-Lu and north-west Bratkowice, but also in active volcanoes in the Moonlit Crown. Some individuals make their nests in hotsprings, digging down to slumber for centuries.
Size: See reference image.
Physical Characteristics: A weiwu has a large, powerful chest and thick, somewhat short legs. A flexible neck supports its large head. A thick layer of skin covers its face, giving the appearance of a bone mask, and a single gemstone grows within it, increasing in size as the weiwu grows older. Powerful teeth line a weiwu’s mouth, and two sets of curved fangs are prominently displayed even when its mouth is fully closed. The weiwu’s mane is long and surprisingly soft, and can be fluffed up to make the weiwu look bigger. Male weiwu have an oval-shaped tailfin, females have a crescent-shaped tailfin, and this is the only easy way to tell them apart. The tough skin of a weiwu is covered by small, thin scales and is warm to the touch, as their internal temperature is much higher than that of humans. It is not uncommon to see heat rising from its skin, especially on those rare occasions when a weiwu is seen on a cold day.
Weiwu colors change with the heat of their surroundings, one that just emerged from lava shining like molten gold, another sleeping at the bottom of a hotspring dark, lustreless grey or greyish green. In open air, the coloring tends towards a burnt umber shade.
Behavior: Intelligent, territorial, aggressive, solitary, possessive.
Weiwu are rarely observed together, leading to a widespread belief (or hope) that they are solitary creatures. Their aggressive, territorial nature inevitably leads to conflict, should someone happen upon a weiwu in the wild.
When encountering each other, weiwu compete with threat displays, raising themselves on their hind legs, fluffing up their mane and roaring to overwhelm and frighten off opponents. If neither weiwu backs down, they fight until one of them no longer moves. A displaying weiwu will fight any other creature that doesn’t back down, too, and will chase a fleeing creature for a short distance before returning to where it was. Playing dead does not work, as the weiwu are intelligent enough to tell that the person or creature is still alive. A weiwu that is physically harmed will pursue its attacker relentlessly for about a kilometer before it is satisfied that the attack has ended.
Weiwu don’t mark their territories and spend much of their time in extreme temperatures where it’s too dangerous for people to enter, so it is difficult to track down where they live. Hearing two weiwu roaring at each other is the only sure way to know that there are weiwu in the area, and it is considered an incredibly bad omen of things to come.
Weiwu mating rituals take place under the full moon. Weiwu males will dance enticingly in a space they have prepared for this purpose, while the females look on. Occasionally the females will perform a threat display or even fight over an especially desirable male, but often they pair off peacefully. Eight to ten months after the mating ritual the female will burrow deep into the earth and be gone for roughly six years. When she returns, one or two small weiwu usually accompany her. She teaches her offspring to hunt, and allows them to live on her territory for up to fifteen years before she chases them off.
Diet: Omnivorous. It is thought that they can consume minerals directly from the flow of lava around them, but they have been observed hunting and eating all sorts of prey, terrorizing livestock and even grazing on crops.
Uses:
Weiwu silk - the mane can be spun into thread and woven into a strong, fire-resistant silk-like fabric that is slightly warm to the touch. Weiwu silk is incredibly rare, forbidden for anyone not of the High Blood.
Weiwu powder - Traditional medicine in the form of ground powder made of claws, bones or horns from a weiwu are said to cure all diseases, even saving dark elves from the effect of Adabrene. While these claims have been exposed as false marketing several times the rumor still persists, making Weiwu powder a very popular, if expensive, remedy. Most of the weiwu powder you’ll find on sale in Song-Lu is fake. Tea made from authentic weiwu powder will soothe aching joints, and spread a long-lasting warmth through one’s body. Authentic weiwu powder is yellowish in color and feels slightly warm to the touch. Fake Weiwu powder is usually dyed to approximate the same color but has no effect beyond a slightly offensive smell and causing an upset stomach.
Scales - The tiny scales can be polished until they shine, then sewn together into a visually beautiful, but practically pointless scalemail that is occasionally used for ceremonial purposes. The scales are much too thin to offer more than basic protection. Polishing a single scale can take up to two hours.
Weiwu gem - A skilled gemcarver can create a high quality spellcasting focus from the weiwu’s gemstone.
Onsen guardian - For millennia, onsen owners have tried many methods to attract a weiwu to their establishment, as the creatures will, once they enter the water, sink to the bottom and enter a sleep-like state that can last for centuries. A single guardian can provide enough heat for several pools, if it is big enough. Technically illegal, many of the largest and most prestigious onsens have one or more of these guardians, resting at the source of their pools. In some places, an enclosure is built around the sleeping giant, in others you can actually swim down and look at it if you dare. Ancient records suggest it is best not to wake the weiwu.
Additional Information:
Due to its size and ferocity, it is rare for a weiwu hunt to be called despite the potential profits. Going by historical records, no hunt has ever gone after a weiwu without losing at least a handful of people. Some of them eaten, some charred beyond recovery.
Legend has it that a weiwu is born from the dying flames of a house fire, a small ember carried on the winds toward the Moonlit Crown. Whether this is true or not, there has certainly been a baffling increase in weiwu numbers in the last few decades.
Weiwu meat tastes like wet sand. Attempts at making it more palatable have at this point been abandoned.
